Meatless Monday - Veggie Pesto Pizza

We are trying to adopt one day a week of meatless meals.  That is the whole day from breakfast thru dinner. This pizza recipe, keeping to our monthly recipe theme, is a step toward that.  It is perfect for lunch or dinner. We used regular broccoli, because broccoli rabe is a bit out of season this time of year. 

I was experimenting with improvements to my Pesto blend, to which I have added sun dried tomato, so we actually used Backyard Patch Pesto Blend to make this.

Smokey Vegetable Pizza

2 Tbls olive oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped

½ bunch broccoli rabe, cut in 1-inch slices

½ sweet red pepper, seeded and sliced

4 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

1 lb. pizza dough at room temperature (make your own or use refrigerated)

1 cup pesto sauce (see our recipe here)

½ pound mozzarella

Directions:

Heat oven to 500 degrees F. Coat a 14-inch pizza pan with non-stick cooking spray. Heat olive oil in large skillet.  Stir in garlic, broccoli, red pepper, onion and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper.  Cook stirring for about 4 minutes.  On a lightly floured surface roll out dough into 14-inch circle.  Gently roll up onto a lightly flowered rolling pin and unrolled onto prepared pizza pan.

Spread pesto sauce over dough to within 1/2 inch of the edge.  Sprinkle with 1 ½ cups cheese over sauce.  Evenly spoon the vegetables over cheese.  Scatter the remaining cheese over vegetables.  Bake at 500 degrees F for 18 to 20 minutes or until nicely browned on bottom. Cool slightly before cutting to serve.

RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018, or Recipe2019 

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2020 so you can find them all.

The themes are:

Feb 2020 - Footbal Tailgate Favorites (AppFeb)

March 2020 - Kabobs (KabobMar)

April 2020 - Brunch (BrunchApr) more in 2021 also

May 2020 - Non-Traditional Pizza (PizzaMay)

June 2020 - StirFry Dishes (StirJun)

July 2020 - Salads with no lettuce (SaladJul)

August 2020 - Pickled things (PickleAug)

September 2020 - Quiche (QuicheSep)

October 2020 - Squash Soups (SquashOct)

November 2020 - Pumpkin (again) (PumpNov)

December 2020 - Turkey Recipes (TurkDec)

Grilled Mushroom and Green Bean Salad - Meatless Monday

The theme this month is Grilling, but I did not want to focus only on grilled meat so I worked on this meatless recipe that is wonderfully flavored and perfect for a summer dinner.

Grilled Mushroom and Green Bean Salad

½ pound large white mushrooms, halved
½ pound green beans, trimmed
1 red onion, cut into 1⁄2-inch-thick rounds
3 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt and black pepper
½ teaspoon granulated onion
1 pound whole portabella mushrooms
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
½ teaspoon rosemary, broken
½ teaspoon dried thyme
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 bunch salad burnet or watercress, thick stems removed (about 4 cups)

Directions
Heat grill to medium-high. In a large bowl, toss the white mushrooms, green beans, onion, 1 tablespoon oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon granulated onion. Grill these marinated vegetables (place the beans perpendicular to the grates to keep them from falling through), turning occasionally, removing them as they become tender, 8 to 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, season the portobellas with garlic, herbs and ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Grill alongside the vegetables stem side down, brushing occasionally with 2 tablespoons vinegar, 3 to 5 minutes per side, until tender and nicely browned.  Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Divide the salad burnet / watercress, grilled vegetables, and sliced portabellas among bowls. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and 2 tablespoons vinegar.

To find any recipe featured this month - use the search box and type: GrillJul

To find any theme recipe from this year type: recipe2018

For 2018 the monthly recipe themes will be:

   January - Chicken Soup (ChickJan)

   February - Beef Stew (StewFeb)

   March - Jambalaya (JambMar)

   May - Ham and Shrimp Dishes (ShrHamMay)

   June - Bread recipes (BreadJun)

   July - Grilling (GrillJul)

   August- Garden Delights 

   September - Salsa, Corn and Jelly 

   October - Squash Dishes 

   November - Pumpkin Recipes

   December - Herbal Cocktails 

Chimichurri Shrimp and Ham and Mushroom Noodles - Monthly Recipe

For those actually following the monthly recipe, I apologize.  My teaching schedule got a bit out of hand in April and I never posted the monthly recipes, so I just moved the April set of recipes to May.  I will pick up where I left off.

For this month I will post recipes using Ham and / or Shrimp.  At the bottom of the post are ways to search the monthly recipe theme from previous months.  Enjoy!

For the first post of the new theme I am going to post two recipes, One using Ham and another using Shrimp. 

Chimichurri Shrimp Salad

Chas loves to make sauces to go on our food.  When I found this recipe where chef Chris Hastings uses the vibrant South American herb sauce chimichurri as a marinade for these tasty shrimp, and also as a dressing for the black-eyed pea ragù that's served alongside, I knew he would love it – change it but love it.

1 cup packed parsley leaves, finely chopped

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons finely chopped oregano
2 small garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbls. minced onion
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/8 teaspoon hotter powdered pepper, like habanero or jalapeño (optional)
Kosher salt and Pepper
20 large shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 cups cooked or thawed frozen black-eyed peas
2 cups yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cups baby arugula

Directions:

Make Chimichurri by whisking the parsley with the olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, garlic, onion and crushed and powdered hot pepper peppers in a medium bowl. Season the chimichurri generously with salt and pepper. In a large bowl, toss the shrimp with 1/4 cup of the chimichurri and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. Grill the shrimp over high heat, turning once, until lightly charred and just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

In a large bowl, toss the black-eyed peas with the tomatoes, arugula and 1/4 cup of the chimichurri add salt and pepper if needed. Pile the salad on plates, top with the shrimp and serve, passing the remaining chimichurri at the table.

You can make the chimichurri ahead to refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving.

If you want to serve wine with this amazing dish, try a warm-climate rosé.  They tend to have juicy, bold fruit that is superb with the sweetness of grilled shrimp.

Ham &and Mushroom Noodles

12 oz. whole-grain or artichoke-flour pasta

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 med. onion, finely chopped
1/8 tsp. salt
8 oz. sliced cremini mushrooms
1/2 tsp thyme, dried
1/2 tsp savory, dried
salt and pepper
4 oz. lower-sodium deli ham, chopped
5 oz. baby spinach

Directions: 

Cook pasta as label directs; reserve 2 cups pasta water. In 12-in. skillet, heat olive oil on medium-high. Add onion, and salt.  Cook 5 minutes, stirring. Add sliced cremini mushrooms, herbs and 1/8 tsp. each salt and pepper. Cook 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in deli ham. Add baby spinach, pasta, and pasta water; toss to combine. Serves 4.

To find any recipe featured this month - use the search box and type: ShrHamMay

To find any theme recipe from this year type: recipe2018

For 2018 the monthly recipe themes will be:

   January - Chicken Soup (ChickJan)

   February - Beef Stew (StewFeb)

   March - Jambalaya (JambMar)

   May - Ham & Shrimp Dishes (ShrHamMay)

   June - Bread recipes

   July - Garden Delights

   August- Grilling

   September - Salsa, Corn and Jelly

   October - Squash Dishes

   November - Pumpkin Recipes

   December - Herbal Cocktails